Composites Europe 2017: Tapping Into New Market Potential

19 September 2017

Composites Europe will be inviting designers, engineers, technicians, converters and buyers from the composites industry, as well as the application industries dealing with composites, to visit Stuttgart, Germany, on 19-21 September 2017.

The trade fair will focus on lightweight construction, resource efficiency, and multi-material design.

“In close cooperation with AVK and/or Composites Germany, COMPOSITES EUROPE has become established over the years as a high-quality, one-of-its-kind meeting point for the industry,“ says Michael Effing, Chairman of the Board at Composites Germany and AVK.

"This event presents the complete value chain for the fibre-composites processing industry now used by far over 10,000 visitors.”

Visitors will meet with 400 exhibitors from 30 nations. The event also includes lecture forums, themed tours and workshops. After its premiere last year the Lightweight Technologies Forum will again address topical issues in multi-material lightweight construction.

Fibre reinforced composites have now become established in a wide variety of application industries.

“To ensure further growth and the development of new market potential it will be imperative to create innovative manufacturing and automation solutions for mass production in future,” explains Olaf Freier, Event Director of Composites Europe, at Reed Exhibitions.

This statement is said to be in line with the industry’s estimates, as shown by the current market survey from Composites Germany. According to this, over half the companies expect investment in machinery within the coming year. The most important growth drivers include wind energy, automotive manufacturing, the aviation and aerospace sectors as well as construction and design, a sector that has developed more dynamically than any other lately.

This year each day at the trade fair will cover the core segments Automotive, Wind and Construction/Design in the form of a Focus Day. On these days a coordinated programme of events ranges from free guided tours to leading exhibitors in each segment, to the lecture programme at the Composites Forum in Hall 6, Stand B76. In addition to this, the exhibits from the application industries will be showcased on three new Innovation Areas.

Further features of the Composites Europe include:

Lightweight Technologies Forum: A combined exhibition and lecture forum organised as a cross-material interface between metal and fibre composite technologies in structural components under the patronage of the German Ministry for Economy and Energy. Admission is free for trade fair visitors.

Composites Germany Pavilion: Members of Composites Germany, the alliance comprising AVK, Carbon Composites, CFK-Valley Stade and VDMA, will be exhibiting. ProTec Polymer Processing, TRUMPF Grüsch, IMA Materialforschung & Anwendungstechnik, the Thuringian Institute for Textile & Plastics Research as well as KARL MAYER Technische Textilien will also be represented.

Composites Process Chain: A new area where visitors can experience the entire process chain for fibre reinforced composite materials. Highlights include a presentation of the carbon core chassis of the BMW 7 series vehicle and a virtual tour of SGL’s newly erected Lightweight and Application Centre (LAC) where visitors will see (with the help of VR goggles) how custom-made composite solutions are manufactured.

Industry Meets Science: Focusing on developments in process engineering, design, quality assurance and repair, this area is organised by IKV in cooperation with partners from the RWTH environment. Features will include demonstrator components as well as guided tours for selected highlights. The participating institutes will also present current developments under the heading RWTH Aachen Composites Research for Next Generation Solutions at the Composites Forum.

Career Platform: The career&composites recruiting programme allows employers and employees to link with each other. On the Jobwall current vacancies can be published and viewed both online and on site. Additionally, a 'running route‘ guides interested visitors to the participating companies.

3rd International Composites Congress (ICC): Serving as a kick-off for Composites Europe the 3rd International Composites Congress (ICC) is organised by the trade association Composites Germany on 18-19 September. International experts will discuss current trends, new applications and technologies as well as market developments in Europe and the rest of the world under the focal theme 'How do Composites become a Key Industry?' This year’s partner country is Korea.